Secrets of the New World (Infini Calendar) (Volume 2) by Scott Kinkade

tired of this futile busywork. As far as he was concerned, the only spies present were himself and Jean-Louis.
    “It doesn’t hafta be the truth,” Jean-Louis snickered. “We just need enough circumstantial evidence to convince the President the Austrians are tryin’ to steal American technology rather than negotiate for it.”
    Emil sighed. “Well, we’re going to need a lot more than what we’ve got so far.” He pulled out his pocket watch. “It’s almost time to report in.” A thought suddenly struck him. “Later, I want to check out that blacksmith’s shop.”
    “Huh? Why?”
    “Because of all the places they visited, that one was completely uninteresting. Why did they go there?”
     
    ***
     
    It was now close to six o’clock in the evening. The report from Emil and Jean-Louis was due any minute. Deschanel was aware of this as she paced back and forth in her cabin aboard the Minuit Solaire II .
    By now her patience was reaching its lowest end, and her anger was reaching its highest. She couldn’t take it anymore. She needed to crush Farahilde Johanna and she needed to do it soon. In order to do that, she would have to get the young Austrian alone some place where the latter could be attacked without anyone knowing it was Deschanel who had committed the act. That was how the current commander of the Ordre de la Tradition had been trained to operate. It was second nature to her and in that regard she couldn’t have been more different than the previous commander.
    She headed to the bridge to await the report from her subordinates. Within minutes there was a clacking from the telegraph console and a single sheet of paper crawled out. Deschanel ripped it free and examined it. The message was brief, simply mentioning the places where Farahilde Johanna and the President’s secretary had gone that day.
    She quickly fired back a response. She ordered them to notify her when the two women stopped some place with less than excellent lighting.

Chapter IX: Konnichi Wa—Ima, Anata wa Shinde Imasu!
     
     
     
     
    Potomac Park, Washington, December 12, 1792 (Infini Calendar), 7:03 p.m.
    After sundown, Jeanne took Farahilde to a wedge-shaped island south of the President’s Palace—and in a body of water known as the Washington Channel—called Potomac Park. As it turned out, this was the area Farahilde and Frederick had seen upon their arrival to Washington, the place with strange-clothed people and lanterns strung across the trees. Said trees had petals of a light red or pinkish hue. Jeanne explained that these trees were called sakura , or cherry blossoms. This island was the only place in America where the sakuras grew. This was because they had been brought here from the island nation of Japan by Potomac Park’s residents, Japanese immigrants who had come to the United States, partly because they were interested in adventure, but also as a defiant response to their country’s isolationist policies.
    Wooden ramshackle houses lined the perimeter of Potomac Park, but on this night the residents were gathered in the center of the island for their annual Fuyuki Festival. According to Jeanne, the event was held to celebrate the passing of the seasons and to honor their ancestors. That last part, at least, Farahilde could appreciate. She made it a point to keep her own ancestors’ memories alive inside her.
    The Fuyuki Festival consisted of a multitude of booths, most of which offered either games or assorted foods. The booths were labeled using characters Farahilde didn’t recognize.
    As they walked among the booths, Farahilde asked Jeanne, “Why do they all wear robes?”
    “They’re called kimonos. It’s simply the style where they come from.”
    “The ki-mo-nos are certainly fancy, I’ll give them that.”
    Suddenly Jeanne said, “So, you’re engaged. I would never have picked you as the type to settle down.” Frederick had stayed back at the President’s Palace to observe Leopold’s